Hey friends, I’m back in the US!
After my time in Vietnam, I ended up needing a break from blogging. After walking through some depression with Lord, I went through some heavy burn out. Luckily, the Lord kindly brought me out of the ashes and into a season of beautiful fulfillment. So, here’s a bit of an update of what the rest of the race looked like for me!
Cambodia :
This country was beautiful. It was full of long talks with the Lord on the roof, staring at the stars and crying out to Him. This was the place where I began to understand how deeply I needed healing and restoration. Overall, I realized I’ve never really understood what it means to rest with the Lord, and allow Him to move. I often hid underneath the disguise of being uncomfortable with confrontation. In reality, I was uncomfortable with the idea of vulnerability. He allowed me to come into His presence, and find security in His arms. Through this, I began opening up to my team, and finding out what it means to truly rest. I discovered how to have hope in the Lord, and the promises He has made.
For our ministry, we partnered with a local learning center and got to be Teaching Assistants. Through this we also got to teach one of their Sunday school classes, and work with their Youth group. I worked with an amazing woman who had three classes with ages ranging from 8-32. She radiated joy and love. Often I would watch over the class, helping with English pronunciation. I’ll admit, I fumbled over their names and struggling to pick up any of the Khmer language. Yet even with the differences in speech, the love of the Lord is easily communicated across generations and languages. The students were open to conversations, and hearing more about His love. It was such a sweet season of pouring into them. My favorite story was when one of the boys came up to me after the class, asking if I liked to sing. He then proceeded to sing me a Micheal Jackson song as I laughed with him and his friends. I then asked if he knew about the love of the Lord, and giggled as my teammate Abby was taking pictures of me through the classroom window haha.
We lived at an Adventures in Mission base in Siem Reap with another team. Although I didn’t cross over to do ministry with the team of eight men, they deeply impacted my time there. The Lord healed much of my perspective of men in my generation through the interactions I had with these sweet guys. We had conversations about what it means to suffer for the gospel, and how we as a piece of the American culture can help the shift of focus off of ourselves and onto the One who is worthy of our praise.
We had many worship nights on base, and plenty of conversations that were difficult in the moment, but ultimately led to discovering more and more of what it means to walk with Christ alongside my team. The words that continuously came to mind were these :
“the Lord is faithful to completion.”
Eswatini :
The amount of freedom that was found here!!! This sweet season was easily my favorite time on the race. We lived on base in Swazi with the whole squad… and you can only imagine what it is to reunite with fifty of your favorite people. We learned much about the beauty of what it means to be still with the Lord, and how to listen to the Holy Spirit on behalf of our brothers and sisters on a daily basis. Each morning and evening I would have intentional conversations with different people. For the first time, I was able to get out of my shell and actually build deep connections with my squad.
Ministry here was my favorite part of the race. For the first two weeks I worked in a preschool with my buddy Marvin. We would lead them in dances, play games with the little kids, and we even taught them how to draw faces. Then, we would lead the twenty kids outside to the playground and run around with them until it was time for them to go eat. We were stationed at what we call “care points”. The kiddos would often come after school to get a warm meal, and for some of them it might be the only meal they get in a day. Often their parents work most of the day, or they live with their grandparents. Our main focus was to love the kids, and meet whatever needs we were capable of meeting in caring for them. We served their food, played games, told Bible stories, and showed them a small glimpse of the love of the Father.
Halfway through our time there, our parents had the opportunity to visit us! To have the chance to show them what my life has been like overseas was such a unique and beautiful experience. They got to participate in ministry with a few of the people on our squad, and connect with other parents as well! Watching them connect with kids at the care points was a highlight of my race.
For the last two weeks, I went back to working with my team at their care point. It was sweet to connect with kids across three different spaces, and it was painful to say goodbye to each of them. Whether it was playing guitar on the ground, walking miles to house visits, or simply holding a child in my arms, my heart was so full in this season.
Personally, I stepped into a season of actively pursuing the Lord in new ways. I implemented silence and solitude into my daily routine, and stepped deeper into practicing different types of spiritual discipline. Also, I began to realize my need for strong community. Having my squad mates made it such a sweet season of connection for me. I’d say this was the place where I really began to understand how sweet it is to have a group of people who are dedicated to the Lord. Through the ups and the downs, there was always somebody to dive deep in conversation with. The Lord led me through the beginning of tearing down the walls of my heart, letting Him come in and redeem relationships for me. Consistently, the thing that the Lord reminded me was :
“Let go of everything else. I am your portion and your inheritance.”
South Africa :
Time in Jeffrey’s Bay was full of joy and peace. By far it was the lightest season of my race. The Lord taught me what it means to simply enjoy His presence and enjoy the people around me. It was a time of sanctification and preparation for what is to come. We lived with another team of girls in a space called the “Mission House” on a Global Mission campus. We had a house mom named Wendy, who continuously poured out motherly love over us. And, a man named Ryn drove us around to our ministries every day, and was one of our best friends. He would encourage us and help us dive deeper into more of what the Lord was calling us into.
We partnered with one of the local schools, and each person on my team was assigned to a grade or a class room. I worked in third grade with my teammate Emma. We got the blessing of sharing stories from the Bible, and leading the kids in worship songs almost every day. For the majority of the time we did logistical things for the classes, and administration work. Whenever we were in the class, we would strike up conversations with the kids or the teachers and encourage one another.
For me in this season I had a deep desire to finish reading the Bible on the race. I read about thirty books so that I could get through the Old Testament completely, and the New Testament for a second time since leaving in September. I’d given away my Bible in Vietnam to a sweet friend that I shared the gospel with, so it was a perfect time to dive deep and wide. It was the first time that I really understood the value of the Word, and could truly say that I believe everything that is written in the Bible. Praise the Lord for my sweet friend Katie Jean – we would have morning Bible time and hold each other accountable for getting into the presence of God!
We got the opportunity to go out in pairs and share the gospel to people in the beach and in the shopping village. For three days we spent our time intentionally seeking the Lord first in the community, sharing His love with people we came across on the streets, and planting seeds all around.
During this time, the Lord revealed more about my heart for ministry. I discovered a newfound passion for the gospel, and a deep appreciation for Christ centered community. Ultimately He showed me what it means to rely on Him for everything. I’m still learning how to have faith in His promises and His plans, and what it means to trust that He is a God who is capable of things far greater than my imagination could bear. For me, this means looking into new ministries to partner with overseas.
The question that would often come up in any given circumstance was :
“How would a deeply beloved child of God respond in this instance?”
Now that I am back in the states, I want to continue to pursue the Lord in greater measures. Please continue to pray for the people we connected with overseas, and the kids we encountered to grow to know the Lord and His love. We can pray for the seeds that were planted in people who still have yet to see the Lord as a good Father. And, pray for hope and truth to be found by those who are seeking fulfillment. If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that prayer is such a powerful thing.
Psalm 27 was a consistent comfort while I was overseas. The gentle reminder that my focus and my gaze should be on the Lord in all things.
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” - Psalm 27:4
So… I guess that is all for now! Thank you all for your prayers and support. This experience was so incredible, and I am so blessed and beyond thankful for all that the Lord has done for me!
All my love, Deborah.
